Popular and Pulp Fiction

A focus on forms of ‘popular’ or ‘pulp’ fiction draws attention away from the published novel as the preferred model of literary circulation within theorisations of world literature. By examining manifold methods of literary consumption, we are able to create a holistic picture of the reading practices and tastes of local audiences.

The physical form of the chapbook, for example, is common to all of our case study regions and provides an alternative mode for the consumption of both fiction and non-fiction texts, particularly in the earlier periods covered by the project. Genres such as speculative or science fiction, crime fiction, and historical fiction, meanwhile, emphasise the importance of considering literary forms whose appeal is couched in an aesthetics and subject matter that is distinct from that of other, more ‘highbrow’ genres. Literature written for and marketed at specific audiences, too, furnishes fertile ground for analyses that privilege the taste and habits of readers, and highlight instances of the reworking or reshaping of existing narratives; children’s literature and fairytales, for example, emphasise that the didactic potential of literature is not limited to so-called ‘great works’ but can find form in narratives whose readerships are sharply delineated.

The ‘popular,’ here, refers to a broad selection of literary forms, the constitution of which yields rich pickings for comparative case studies between languages, regions, and time periods.